INSPIRING STORIES BY SAN FRANCISCO YOUTH
"The Ankle of Doom: A Terror Story" by Avery Fisher
A time I had a problem was when I sprained my ankle really bad. It all started last year at the Presidio YMCA.
The Presidio YMCA sounds like basketballs bouncing and smells like cleaning spray. When you walk in you see a desk in front of you and a door leading to the gym to your left. The gym is large with six basketball hoops. The mood is quiet and relaxed. The weather was sunny and warm. The time was 11:00 AM.
I touched the basketballs. The basketballs also have a distinct smell. I can hear people’s feet slapping the hardwood floor. I was in a ball when my dad asked, “Are you Ok?”
My dad, Jim Fisher, is six foot one with short black hair. He has dark black eyes and big cheeks. He takes big slow strides and likes basketball. He likes sports such as football, basketball, soccer and he loves planes. His voice is very deep. He usually is relaxed or very busy. My dad likes to watch T.V too. He usually wears sweatpants and an old T-shirt with a hat and sneakers. He has a small beard and has light brown skin. When he sits down, he sits down slowly. He is very smart and kind.
Then he picked me up and carried me to the car easily, due to his 6 foot 1, 240 pound frame. He didn’t think it was a very bad injury and put my whole leg in a bucket of ice. He asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital and I said, “Yeah.”
When we arrived at the UCSF hospital, I sat in the waiting room for three hours until they called me in and took X-rays.
“I hope I don’t get a cast,” I declared.
“You probably will,” my dad warned.
“My leg hurts so much!” I cried.
“It’ll hurt for awhile,” my dad warned.
“Yup, it probably will,” I remarked.
I had sprained the tibia on my foot very bad and might have gotten a tiny fracture. They put me in a cast and I had to be on crutches for two weeks. That meant no playing sports. At recess, instead of playing basketball, I refereed the games, which felt good, but I wanted to play. When the cast came off, it felt good, but my foot was stiff and stuck sideways. The orthopedist pushed on my foot and I jumped in pain. Then one week later, everything was back to normal.
About the Author
Hola, my name is Avery Fisher. I was born in San Francisco, California in 1995. I am 11 years old. I love to play soccer, baseball, football and basketball. One of my hobbies is listening to rap music. I don’t like classical music and I don’t like the Raiders. I want to be a pro soccer player on FC Barcelona. I live in a flat with my mom, dad and sister. I would like to go to Lowell and go to college. Ciao!
"Brownie" by Alice Ghai
On a Friday in December 2006, I let Miguel borrow Brownie, a little brown bear with a red ribbon tied to his neck.
Miguel has dark brownish/blackish hair, deep brown eyes, and just a hint of a mustache. He likes to hang out with the boys. His voice is between a boy’s voice and a man’s voice. He feels mad. He walks in between slow and fast.
That day Miguel went to Mateo’s house.
He saw a 60-pound dog and everything moved fast. He heard his friends talking He touched the dog. The weather was sunny. He was in a happy mood. He smelled the dog. He tasted nothing. When Miguel was at Mateo’s house, Mateo’s dog, Buster, bit Miguel’s ear and took Brownie away.
“Bring back Brownie on Monday,” I said.
“OK,” he said.
“Do you have a dog?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah,” he said.
Buster later pooped Brownie out. Ew. It’s sad but funny. When Buster pooped Brownie out, I felt weird. Too bad I don’t have any last memories with Brownie.
"The Fatty Girl" by Veronica Hernandez
One time I had a problem when I was eleven years old. I was attending San Francisco Community School. I heard kids screaming. I smelled the ugly lunches in the lunch room. I could taste my hot chips. The time was 11:00 a.m. I was feeling very happy. It was very cool outside.
I had a problem with a fat little girl who thought she was better than me. Sarah is eleven years old. She is four foot seven. She goes to San Francisco Community School. Sarah is a snob. She has short, thick, thick, black hair. Sarah has dark skin. She is also from El Salvador.
I was friends with Sarah since preschool. Now I’m not her friend anymore. I feel happy about not being her friend because I don’t like Sarah anymore. She brags about getting all her clothes from Macy’s, but she gets them at Goodwill.
“Where did you get that skirt from?” said Sarah.
“I got it at Macy’s,” said Veronica.
“Oh, well, I got all my clothes from Macy’s and each of my rings cost 2,000 dollars,” said Sarah.
“I don’t care if you got your clothes at Macy’s. Stop bragging because you know you don’t get your clothes at Macy’s,” said Veronica.
About the Author
My name is Veronica. I was born in San Francisco. I live at 44 Excelsior. Shopping is my hobby. I hope to design clothes in the future.
"So Ruthless Friend" by Victoria Hu
A time I had a problem was when I broke up with my friends. One friend’s name is Christi and my other friend’s name is Ami. Christi was really mean because she yelled at me for no reason.
Christi has long straight, beautiful hair, but she has an attitude problem. She yells a lot at her friends even if they are right next to each other. Christi likes to play jump rope if we have one. Christi has a medium light voice. She feels like she is a top student of the class, and she thinks that she can boss other people around like we are her slaves. She usually hunches her back when she walks.
Ami was a good and friendly friend because when I needed an eraser, she lent me an eraser.
I wanted to break up with Christi and so I wrote a note that said, “I don’t want to be your friend because you are really mean to me!”
Christi didn’t really care about breaking up the friendship. She called me the day she found the note in her backpack.
“Should I tell Ami that you broke up with us as friends?” she asked.
I responded, “No, don’t tell her today, tell her tomorrow at school.”
Christi said in a calm voice, “OK. Bye.”
I replied the same.
This was at my school and it was near the play structure – that was the only thing that was there that time. I was at my house when Christi called me.
I was about six years old when this happened and I was in the first grade too.
We had been friends for about two to three years. Ami and I got back together, but Christi is still mean.
About the Author
My name is Victoria Hu and I live in San Francisco. My favorite fruit is grapefruit – you shouldn’t eat it if you don’t like bitter. I was born in Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco. My hobbies are drawing, playing my flute and hanging out with my friends. I have one brother and no sister and my brother is very annoying. I plan to be a musician when I grow up.
"The One and Only Fight" by Andres Kilgore
The characters in my story are Andres Kilgore and Bob, the kid Andres gets into a fight with. The teacher is Gary N. Bob is grumpy and is not very nice. Bob was not being nice because he hit me. He got suspended. Bob is a kind of chubby boy, not too tall and not too small. He is kind of stupid. He likes to play swords. He moves slowly. He has a little boy voice, slow and dry.
It was morning and I was playing soccer in front of the school.
When I entered the school I saw teachers eating food and kids eating junk food. I saw kids talking and playing soccer. The school is pretty new because of technical difficulties.
My friend Bob came up to me and took my ball.
Bob is told by me to move. Then Bob punches me. I tell him to F-off. The teachers say they will call home. I was kind of mad.
It looked like Bob was having a bad day. I told him to move again. Then suddenly he punched me in the stomach. I lost my breath and fell back. I got right back up and hit him in the face and he fell back. Then I kicked him in the face and his mom, in the yard, grabbed me. I was still very mad and I tried to break away from her hold. She took me to the counselor and I was told to call my dad. The next day, Bob was suspended and I was not, because I was doing self-defense. I apologized to Bob and everyone else. And this was my first and only fight ever.
About the Author
I was born in Paraguay. That is right next to Brazil. I live in the Excelsior and my house is on top of the hill. I like to play soccer with my friends from Roof Top. I would like to be a pro soccer player.
"Birthday Bike" by Jovanni Lara
A time I had a problem was when I was about five or six years old and my dad bought me a bike. It was a mountain bike. The problem was that I didn’t know how to ride a bike. Now here is where the adventure began. My dad had bought me a bike for my birthday because I was always bragging to him.
My dad looks like a very athletic person. He weighs about 200 pounds. He has brown skin and he is about five foot six. He spends most of his time doing things at the park like running and he eats healthy food. His voice is very deep. He likes to laugh and he’s loud. He is good about taking care of himself and he moves like a normal person.
“When am I going to get my bike?” I asked my dad.
He said, “Maybe someday,” and then he said, “I might get one for you for your birthday.”
And guess what I got for my birthday?
My dad and my mom went to the park to show me how to ride and I said, “Can I try it by myself?” and they let me.
“Be sure to hold on to the handles, son,” she shouted.
“OK, Mom,” I blurted.
“Be sure to pedal right, son,” he yelled.
“I’ll try to do it right,” I screamed.
The park was named McLaren Park in San Francisco. It was full of trees and was very green. It was around summertime.
Guess what happened next! I fell down and a pebble went inside my knee. I was in horrible pain and bleeding everywhere. The fall was very painful and my knee was stinging. My mom took me to San Francisco General Hospital.
The next day my dad and mom decided to take me to the grass to ride my bike and when I fell down it didn’t hurt that bad. I finally learned how to ride the bike two months after the accident. So, I always practice over there.
About the Author
My name is Jovanni Lara and I was born in San Francisco, CA in the United States. I have lived in San Francisco all my life. I like playing soccer and football. I hope to be a real estate agent, lawyer or businessman. I am 13 years old and I am in the seventh grade.
"F.U.N." by Stanley Liang
A time I had a problem was when I kept on singing this song from SpongeBob and it is called F.U.N. I was ten years old. I lived in Sunnydale.
I see people getting hurt and cars driving really fast. I hear a lot of gunshots and people selling drugs. I smell smoke and it smells stinky in my neighborhood. I taste air and pollution. The time is five p.m. I was happy and fun. The weather was cold, but sunny. I feel leather.
This is how it goes: “F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for nose picking, chewing gum, and sand licking. Here with my best buddy.” I think SpongeBob is cool. My dad didn’t like it because it was annoying. He told me to stop.
“Stanley, cut that out or I will kick your *$%@ing *^#,” my dad yelled.
“All right, I’ll stop. Sheesh, stop being mad. Dang,” I told him.
My dad is over six feet tall. He has black hair, dark-brown eyes and his skin is rough. My dad likes to cook. He likes watches and he listens to music. My dad’s voice is a little bit low and high. My dad feels good when he is happy, but mad when something is wrong. My dad moves like me and he walks.
About the Author
I was born in San Francisco and live in a killer alley. I play computer and video games, eat, sleep, drink, watch TV and draw. I don’t know what I want to do in the future.
"The Custody Battle" by Marybell Lopez
A time I had a problem was when my parents went to court. I was ten when this happened. They went to court because my dad wanted custody of me and my sister. We were living with my mom at her house during this time. But one night we went to sleep over at my dad’s house.
My mom has long brown hair with curls at the end. She has brown eyes. She is thin. She likes to go out to parties with her friends. On the phone my mom’s voice sounds deep. She feels sad and unhappy. She walks really fast towards the bus. And normally she walks fast.
My mom said something on the phone to my dad. “No, the girls are living with me,” my mom shouted.
“But you’ve had them for a long time and they should be with me now,” my dad answered.
“They don’t want to live with you,” remarked my mom.
“How do you know they want to live with you and they don’t want to live with me?” retorted my dad.
The next morning there were cops at my house. I was wondering what had happened. My dad put a restraining order on my mom. I felt a little bit sad but I did not burst into tears. I had no idea what she thought of this because she burst into tears right when it happened. This affected me because I was not used to living with my dad. I was used to living with my mom since I was really young. And we were not able to see my mom for a long time.
About the Author
I was born in the United States. I was born in Saint Luke’s Hospital. I live in San Francisco. I don’t have any hobbies, because I like to do different things. What I have planned for the future is to pass college and get a good job.
"Drama" by Cecelia Luna
One time I was in school with my friend, Brianna. Brianna and I went to three different schools together. At this time we were going to SFC. It was her birthday last Friday. I slept over at her house until Tuesday. Her party was at her new house in San Francisco. Brianna and I had been friends on and off since the fourth grade.
Brianna is about five foot three. She has dirty blond hair and brown eyes. Brianna loves to get on the computer. Most of the time she’s on MySpace. Her voice is kind of in the middle between deep and soft.
At school she was acting like she was mad at me and hecka different.
“Brianna, what’s wrong with you?” I asked.
“Don’t talk to me!” Brianna exclaimed.
“What’s your problem? I didn’t do nothing to you,” I bragged.
“Just get out of my face,” she muttered.
Brianna was always fighting with me. In my world she would be considered two-faced. Then the next day I went to school and I was wearing a shirt she loaned me. At school I see a lot of kids there talking a lot. It is lunchtime. At lunch, I smell the disgusting food they’re about to serve us. I can taste the chocolate milk going down my throat. I feel tense. I know something is about to happen and you could tell by the weather it’s been really on and off foggy.
I passed by her in the hallway, and she muttered, “Ew. Look, she’s wearing my shirt.”
At lunchtime I sat near her. She kept staring at me and then looking at the shirt. So I went up to her and told her she could have her shirt back. I went up to the bathroom and switched my shirts, then I was looking for her and she was nowhere to be found. After that, in a classroom, I saw her and I threw her shirt in her face.
Then we got downstairs. I told her she could have all her stuff back.
She said, “Give me my case back,” because she bought it for me. I started to take it off my phone.
“A little faster,” she said.
So I took it off and threw it at her face.
But if we do become friends again I do not think it will ever be the same because we have always had an on and off relationship. I think that it will be difficult for us to go back to the way we were.
About The Author
My name is Cecelia Luna but most of my friends call me Ce-Ce. I was born and raised in San Francisco. In my spare time I love to hang out with my friends. I got to San Francisco Community School. I am the youngest seventh-grader. I just turned twelve.
"Getting Kicked Out of Class" by Justice Mickels
I remember the time that I got kicked out of the class because the teacher thought I was talking. Atokai looks like a monkey. She likes giving people detention. I only asked for a pencil. I was in language arts class when I got kicked out. The class sounded like a music band. The class looked like garbage because it was dirty.
"It’s All About Me!" by Jerica Miles
A time I had a problem was when I was in preschool and I had an aggression problem. The setting of my story is in preschool and that is the only place because I was only five years old.
I would always get mad easily and react with violence. It still kind of happens, but not as much as when I was in preschool. I am glad about that because I wouldn’t have any friends right now. I only had one friend in preschool. Her name was Diamond and she was the exact opposite of me. She always wore these long braids and loved to wear red. She was kind of short and had light-brown skin.
“Come play, Jerica!” said Diamond.
“No thanks. I don’t feel like it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to play?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She was sweet and nice. I was spicy and protective. We are not friends any more because we lost contact with each other. My friends sort of don’t resort to violence like I do. I kind of like to talk up for them but they can talk up for themselves, too. I just like standing up for them. I even get into trouble for them because I have to stand up for some of them.
About the Author
I was born in Berkeley, California. I live in Daly City. I like to read manga books. Maybe I will sing, act and model.
"Pockets" by Oscar Reyes
I was walking around my house. In my house I see a lot of things like my futon; it’s blue and comfortable. I hear my parents talking in their room. The weather was warm and sunny. I feel the futon I’m laying on. I taste the plain air in my living room. It was after school around 2:30 p.m. I smell the fresh air in my living room. My father was lying on the floor.
My father has a beard covering his lower face and he has thick brown hair. My father got up and something fell out of his pocket. It was a pocket knife. I picked it up and took it to my room. I was ten and in the fourth grade when this happened. I kept it for a while.
One day I took it to school. I remember telling myself to bring it back home, but I forgot. I was in the yard when a girl, Lakara, bothered me, so I annoyed her really badly to the point where she started to kick me and punch me.
Lakara is an African American girl. She looks thirteen, and is kind of big. In my story she is the bully. Lakara is big and pretty tall. She is very athletic and can double-Dutch. She has a loud voice. She is usually very aggressive and mean. She moves a lot like a tiger.
She went through my desk as well. Then she saw the pocket knife.
“Ooh, he has a pocket knife,” she yelled out to the class.
I was really nervous. For the rest of the day, Lakara kicked and punched me. At the end of the day, my mom and my grandma picked me up. I resolved it by talking it over with my parents and serving detention for a week.
When I got home, my mom and my grandma were disappointed.
“Why did you do it?” she questioned me.
“So I could feel protected,” I responded.
About the Author
I was born in Santa Cruz, California. I live in San Francisco. I like to do Capoeira, a Brazilian dance and martial art. When I grow up I want to be a Capoeira master, and get a job that pays well.
The Copycat by Tracy Santa Ana
A time I had a problem was when my friend Christina copied my hairstyle on Gaia. Gaia is a Web site where you can customize a character, make friends, play games and go into town.
It was January 16, 2007 when I went on Gaia and found out that Christina copied my hair. I could see that her hair looked exactly like mine. I heard myself thinking, “Why does she always copy me?” I felt so mad because she always copied me. It was a nice sunny day but I was on the computer when I found out. I heard my dog whining, trying to get out of the kitchen. I could smell my grandma’s cooking.
Christina is a pretty girl with black hair and always wears long earrings. She likes to play all kinds of sports and likes to make new friends. Her voice is normal and she moves normally. She feels sad because I deleted her from my Friends list, so she wants to apologize.
The hairstyle was girl’s terra-twist brown. She copied so many things on Gaia like mine, but I got mad because I spent so much money on it.
I sent her a letter saying, “Why do you always copy me? First my wish list, then my manga books I read, and now my hair!”
“Why do you always copy me?” I exclaimed.
“You don’t own my decisions, Tracy!” Christina yelled.
“Fine, but you aren’t on my Friends list anymore,” I declared.
“I’m sorry, Tracy. Please accept my Friend request and apology,” Christina wept.
“It’s OK. I just lose my temper when someone copies me,” I told her.
When I sent it to her she didn’t reply back, so I deleted her from my Friends list. Later she sent me a letter saying she was sorry, and I accepted that and her Friend request. Now we don’t copy each other if it’s so big, but we do if it’s something small like a wish list or what manga books we read on our interest tags.
About the Author
My name is Tracy. I live in San Francisco and I like to read manga books, play on Gaia, and play with my friends. I’m in the sixth grade and I have a bunch of friends that I always hang out with.
"Messy Draft" by Mateo Van Holland
One night in 2006, I was hanging out with my friend, Messie, at my house.
It was snowing outside. I could see the TV because I was playing video games. I could hear gunshots from my video games. It was nighttime and I felt warm.
Messie has brown eyes, brown hair and whitish-brown skin. He weighs 96 pounds and is four feet eight. He likes to be at home and eat tamales. His voice sounds soft. He moves by his legs.
We were playing my PS2. I was killing Messie.
“I’m beating you.” I said.
“No, you’re not,” he wined.
“I win!” I bragged.
“Man,” he wept.
“Let’s play again,” I muttered.
“OK,” he cried.
My other friend, Bysson, lived in Concord. He texted me saying that he didn’t want to be friends any more because I was hanging out with Messie. He is the kind of person who is very stubborn. I felt sad and mad, so I pretended that the people in the video game were him. I shot them. I was hanging out with Messie because I was going to Bysson’s house the next day. I haven’t talked to him since that night.
About the Author
I was born in San Francisco, but my dad was born in Nicaragua. My mom was born here. I live in the Excelsior. Some of my hobbies are sports and video games. In the future I hope to own a homeless shelter.
"Slip and Fall" by Sarai Velasquez
My dad has been in the hospital three times in my life, so far. The first time he was in the hospital was in 2000. I saw my dad in the hospital every day that he was in there. I touched the hospital door before I went into his room and the mood was sad. My dad tasted the food in the hospital and didn’t like the food. I could smell all the people in the hospital. I could hear people talking in the hospital.
My dad was 43 when this happened to him. I remember when my dad came home from work one day. My dad worked at a hotel as a chef. When my dad got home he was saying to my mom that his back was hurting him.
My dad is short and big. He has medium dark skin. My dad likes to fix stuff when it is broken and likes to clean and cook. My dad has a kind of deep voice but not so deep. My dad feels pain all the time but he is happy that he is alive after almost dying. My dad can’t bend down a lot and he can’t carry heavy things and he walks slowly.
He said that he wanted to go to the doctor the next day. But the next day, my dad couldn’t get up out of bed. When my mom and dad told me what had happened to my dad I felt really sad. The next couple of days my dad didn’t get better. One day he went to the doctor and I went with him.
“How did all of this back pain start?” asked the doctor that my dad was seeing in the hospital.
“My back pain started when I fell on my back when I was carrying stuff that was very heavy,” said my dad.
“I am going to ask you if you can bend down and if you can’t just tell me,” said the doctor.
“I can’t bend down at all. It hurts too much. I feel like my back is broken,” said my dad.
Then the doctor asked my dad if he could bend down and he couldn’t. After some time my dad had three operations and now he is doing better but he has to take pills every day for the rest of his life. He is diabetic for life and I still help him around when he needs it.
About the Author
I was born in San Francisco at Kaiser Hospital on May 30, 1995. I lived in San Francisco first. When I was ten, I moved to Daly City. I still went to the same school but now I’m trying to move back to San Francisco. My hobbies are to sing, dance, play volleyball and be on the computer. My parents both were born in El Salvador, but my dad has other Central America countries that are in his blood, which are in my blood, too. I want to be a singer, but if I can’t be that I want to work in the medical field. If that doesn’t work, then I want to be a humanitarian and an activist.
"Untitled" by Azhiana Walls
When I was really little, I lived for awhile in Las Vegas with my mom. I was smart and had brown eyes that sparkled. I liked to watch TV, especially P.B.S. Kids. My voice was regular, not high or low. I was active in sports. I could run fast. I played hopscotch and jump rope. I went to preschool and the best memory I have from that school was eating applesauce for a snack. I liked the applesauce. I had big toys. I heard kids screaming in the playground. I smelled and tasted applesauce at snack and lunch time.
One day I had a problem with another girl. She was playing with my hair. I didn’t like that. She pulled my hair and I got mad. I picked up a sound book and hit her with it. A sound book is one that makes noises when you press on a place on the side. I was happy I hit the little girl because she was messing with me. I don’t really remember the other children. The teacher told my mom about it when she came to pick me up. The teacher explained that I hit the girl. My mom smacked my hand. It didn’t hurt.
I went back to preschool and the girl was still there. We didn’t fight anymore. I am still convinced today that people should not touch other people’s hair unless they are doing the hair.
About the Author
I was born in San Francisco. My hobbies are reading and watching TV. I hope to be a singer in the future.
"The Spider Bite" by Lateysha Williams
It was one nice day. I was six years old and was outside with my sister and cousin. We were playing a game and got tired, so we got some soda. I was just sitting there and a spider came up and bit me on my leg. I was living in Sunnydale.
Sunnydale has a basketball court and the things I see the most are houses and lots of cars parked on the sidewalk. People walk on the sidewalk. Sometimes it is hot or cold. You can hear the wind blowing; you can’t smell stuff because it is a clean place. Things you touch are basketballs, the ground and other things. I was feeling comfortable. It was in the daytime.
I was in so much pain when I got bitten by the spider. My leg started to swell up and we ran into the house and told my mom and dad. The two characters I’m going to talk about are my mom and dad. My mom – well, I don’t say girls are cute – but my mom is a beautiful woman and my dad is a wonder man. He’s good-looking – well, that’s what people say. My mom is outgoing and so is my dad. My mama has a great uncle and my dad’s voice is deep. My mama is a person that likes to move a lot, so does my dad. My mom and dad are always happy.
“Aunt, Mom, a spider bit Teysha,” my sister yelled.
“What happened?” my mom screamed. “Where is she?”
“Come outside, Aunt and Uncle. Come on, she’s hurt bad,” they yelled.
“Oh, Lord, call the ambulance.”
When they had said that my mom was like, “You need to do this stuff now.”
He said to my mom, “Right this way.”
They took me into this room. I did not know where I was. I did not know what they did but it was fun being in there. They gave me ice cream, lunch and other stuff. I was in Saint Luke’s Hospital for about two weeks.
Then they told my mom, dad, sister and my other family members that I could go home. They were so happy. It was fun being at home for two weeks and I did not have to do any work, just stay at home and be bored. My leg was heavy because they put this blue and black thing on my leg but I was able to walk. I’m happy I did not get my leg chopped off. And I’m able to play all sports now.
About The Author
Hi. My name is Lateysha Williams. I am 13 years old. I was born at Saint Luke’s Hospital on January 29, 1994. I was raised in the Bay Area in Sunnydale. When I have nothing to do I like to play basketball and other sports. My dream is to play on a b-ball team.
"World War III" by Fanny Zhao
A time I had a problem was when I heard on the news that Iraq and the United States were having a war with each other. At my house, you will notice that nothing is always quiet. You will smell food often and often see someone watching TV. I thought there was going to be World War III because all I heard on the TV was “war.” I thought it wasn’t going to be safe anywhere because the news said, “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.”
I thought they might use it on San Francisco, since 9/11 happened. I felt really sad and told my dad.
My dad is a man who knows what he’s doing and saying. My dad is Chinese, tall, with short black hair and in good shape, light eyebrows, small nose, big feet and long fingernails.
“There’s not going to be a World War III and we are not going to be killed by weapons of mass destruction,” my best friend Betty told me.
“Oh, OK. Thanks for telling me this,” I mumbled.
“Bye,” I said. Betty mumbled back.
After that I knew I was safe. It felt good. It was a beautiful day. I rested in my soft bed at 4:00 p.m., eating sweet chocolate, smelling dinner being cooked, hearing the water being poured into a pan, and watching TV. Right then and there I knew I didn’t have to worry as much as I did. After that, I lived my life the way I wanted to.
About the Author
I was born at San Francisco, CA (USA, on Earth). I live in San Francisco. My hobbies are playing on the computer endlessly (on days without school.) In the future, I want to be a doctor. My future goals are to live life without worrying about anything.
"My Busted Head" by Grace Zhu
A time I had a problem was about six or seven years ago. I was about four years old and my sister Karman and I were going to my cousin’s house. My cousin’s living room has a long rug, a big TV and a desk. I heard the TV and voices. I smelled the toys. I tasted the air. It was about the middle of the morning and the afternoon. I was in a good mood. It was sunny and I touched the toys and the tennis racket.
They lived on the same block as me but on a different street near KFC in San Francisco. My sister and my cousin, Victoria, were watching TV. Frank, my other cousin, and I were putting a lot of toys behind the TV.
My cousin Frank looks like a small kid, and has dark blackish hair, and wide eyes. What he likes to do is run, play games, play sports, etc. His voice sounds a bit crackly, not so high and also not so low. I think he felt mad when I pretended to smack him. He walks and just moves normally like other people.
Frank asked me, “What do you want to play?”
I told him, “Let’s play doctor.”
“OK, I’ll be the doctor and you be the patient.”
“No, I want to be the doctor!” I yelled.
“No, I said I am the DOCTOR!” Frank told me.
“NO!” That’s all said before it happened.
I ended up being mad at him. I grabbed a tennis racket and pretended to smack him but I didn’t. Then he threw an Elmo toy train at me. I ran out crying and my sister said, “Oh my gosh! Your head is bleeding!”
We told my aunt. She scolded Frank, put some medicine on my head, and called my parents and the hospital. My aunt drove us to the hospital but I fell asleep on the way. When I woke up, I was lying on my mom’s lap and the doctor had finished sewing my head. It felt like I didn’t have stitches. The doctor took me in a room with a bed and turned the TV on. It felt weird so I said, “I want to go home.” So I did.
About the Author
My name is Grace. I was born in December in San Francisco and I grew up there. I live in the Excelsior with my mom, dad, and my brother and sisters. In the future I hope I can go to Lowell and a good college. My hobbies change because I like to do one thing and then I don’t like it anymore, but I like to draw the most. I like my life because I did many things I never thought would happen to me.
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